Partner Spotlight: Exploring the Mindfulness Work of Space Between

Mental health and voting share a common thread: they both require us to be present, engaged, and connected to our values. At FGA we uphold and celebrate the importance of mental health and mindfulness, for individual and civic well-being.

A key part of achieving just societies and a healthy planet is making sure that people have healthy minds, and remember, taking care of mental health starts early and it’s not just for adults!

This mental health awareness month and we’ve been working with our amazing partners at Space Between. This incredible group of individuals is on a mission to “facilitate human and school transformation through mindfulness practices.” 

We talked to co-founder and co-director, Kim Armstrong, and asked her to tell us a bit more about Space Between and their story…

1. What is the inspiration behind the creation of Space Between and its focus on mindfulness practices in schools? Is there a personal story or experience behind it?

   The inspiration for Space Between came from the transformational experience of mindfulness for two women. One, came from being a teacher, Michel Spruance, who knew that her best teaching and relationships with students came from her mindfulness practice. She saw the difference in what she was able to give to and connect with students with her meditation and mindfulness practice. 

   Two, came from me, a chronically anxious and overwhelmed  person that found mindfulness practice truly changed my life. I was working for another nonprofit that served schools and youth around environmental issues, Washington Green Schools (EarthGen) when I  took a leave from work because of some tough stuff in my family. One of the conclusions that I came to was “wow, I wished I learned these things when I was younger and wouldn’t it be amazing if we could bring these things to youth.”  

   Michel and I both were thinking the same things and came together to ideate and test this concept - bringing mindfulness practices to the whole school community - students, teachers and staff, and parents/caregivers. 

   2. How do you tailor your mindfulness practices to engage and resonate with children?
   

   The definition of mindfulness that we use is “the practice of present moment awareness with curiosity and compassion/kindness (so you can choose what to do next).” We brought together two definitions from Ruth King (author of Mindful of Race) and Dr. Christopher Wilard (author and psychologist). With this lens, mindfulness may be practiced in really anything that we do! And wouldn’t the whole world be a better place if we could all approach every emotion, thought, sensation, interaction, and discussion with curiosity and compassion? 

   We have all trained with many organizations that have adapted and tested mindfulness practices for youth. A big part of this is making the practices and the why behind it relevant for students and youth. We meet them where they are and give examples of how to use it in school, sports, friendships, in families and more. In addition, we focus on this being a practice for everyone so mindfulness is seen as a tool or a gift so we all can be and express our truest self, so students don’t think mindfulness is something so they will behave. We come at it from a strengths-based approach.  We make mindfulness fun and creative by teaching many ways to access mindfulness - the breath, the body, emotions, kind words, gratitude, for example. We play games to practice awareness, we teach creative breath practices and encourage students to create their own, and we focus on students guiding other students in practices. We also tap into our inner child when we are teaching and are playful and silly at times, in addition to addressing the real-life hard stuff that students face at times. This way of bringing mindfulness to children is essential to our vision that all children are well and whole.

   3. What impact have you seen in children who have participated in your mindfulness programs? Are there any success stories or testimonials that stand out?
   
   Where to start?  We have seen so many amazing impacts with our programs. In the schools where we have been working consistently, we have seen an increase of 20% in student feelings of belonging, safety, and connection to social-emotional learning (from Seattle Public Schools climate survey). 98% of students find one or more mindfulness practices helpful and 94% of students noted a positive difference in their lives since learning mindfulness (happier, less worried, calmer, more focused, kinder, etc.) From the teacher's side, almost 100% saw a difference in student's ability to regulate their emotions and  92% indicated an increase in their perception of student well-being.

   We have so many stories!  Here is one from one of our teachers who has now become a board member…

   “Every day is hectic for me as a teacher at Dunlap Elementary. In the past, mornings in the classroom often found me at the top of my lungs shouting instructions and the daily plan, trying to get students started for a busy day.

   Now, my students will tell me, “Hey, Mr. Depusoy, aren’t you going to chime the chime to start class?” And so I do, and we begin with quiet grounding. In the first months of starting this ritual, students would still whisper and make a little noise, a couple of us would listen for the end of the last chime.  At the midpoint of the year now, everybody’s quiet, patiently listening for that edge where sound turns to “no-sound.”. While the days can still get hectic, starting with a mindfulness moment has transformed our class. 

   Another story. A student who was a refugee was leaving school each day because of stomachs, seemingly linked to anxiety. After several weeks of mindfulness instruction with Space Between, his teacher was able to guide the student through some breathing practices that he had learned to help him re-focus, regulate his emotions, and remain in class.

   Students will say “Mindfulness helped me not punch my brother” or “thank you for helping me with my depression” or “Mindfulness is one of the best things I have ever tried” or “I used to doubt myself a lot and mindfulness has given me confidence”.

   4. How do you ensure that your mindfulness programs are accessible and inclusive for children from diverse backgrounds or with different abilities?
   
   We are constantly asking ourselves, in what ways are we ensuring equity in our work? We began our journey going to schools who asked for our help, and we subsequently work primarily in Seattle public schools that are Title I, and the majority of our students are BIPOC. We outreach to and support partners who are aligned in and embody equity values, center marginalized populations, and find joy and strength in doing so. 

   Mindfulness is about creating self-awareness and self-acceptance, regardless of who one is, where one is from, and how one feels. This mindset means that we incorporate different identities, cultures, and feelings into how we teach. This has been even more vital recently with the increase in children who are refugees we have seen in the classrooms. We encourage our students and participants to be an “internal scientist,” and get to know themselves with curiosity and compassion. 

   Here are a few concrete examples of what that looks like in our classrooms:

• We shift lessons in real-time (this is mindfulness)  in our curriculum and are flexible depending on student needs and abilities. 

• We work with schools to translate and interpret when we teach for students of diverse cultures and learning styles. We use sign, visuals, gestures, sounds when language can be a barrier, mirroring what the student does. 

• When we use examples, we bring in cultural relevancy. For example, in our Mindful Eating lesson, we invite students to imagine a special dish they enjoy with their families. 

• When we reference family members, we do not reference only “mom” and “dad,” recognizing there are different family structures beyond the nuclear family. We include “cousins,” uncles,” “grandmothers,” and more.

• We invite students to guide practices in their languages

• We represent and also show visuals of people from different cultures and races practicing mindfulness in our examples. 

  We are constantly working to improve accessibility and inclusivity. We cannot attain wellness and wholeness for all students without resourcing equity.

  5. How has the mental wellness space grown or seen changes in recent years?
  
  The need for mental wellness has increased as well as acknowledgment of the need. We are receiving more and more requests for support.
  In 2021 the US Surgeon General declared that youth mental health challenges, a leading contributor to disability and poor life outcomes, had reached crisis levels. Moreover, young people marginalized by race or sexual orientation are disproportionately impacted, reporting higher rates of suicide attempt (Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2020). Specifically, “in Washington state, between 2015 and 2021, the number of hospitalizations nearly doubled among youth whose primary diagnosis is psychiatric, The Seattle Times found.”

  School-based mindfulness and social-emotional learning (SEL) programs provide youth with tools that support mental health and wellbeing throughout their lives. Research has shown that mindfulness practices change the brain structure, enhancing self-regulation, attention control, emotion regulation and self-awareness (Nature, 2015). The tools that school-based programs provide support healthier relationships, reduced feelings of anxiety and depression, physical health, school attendance, and academic performance (Pennsylvania State, 2020; MIT, 2019).

  6. What challenges have you faced in sharing mindfulness with children? How have you overcome them?

  Sometimes students may be resistant to new things like mindfulness. We overcome this both over the course of time, our engaging programming, and giving lots of examples of people that they may look up to who practice mindfulness (i.e. Emma Watson, aka Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, Bruce Lee, The Seahawks, etc.)
  Another challenge and opportunity is that we need a fully collaborative partner with the classroom teacher. We need them to begin to embed moments of mindfulness in the class when we aren’t there, making it part of the culture of the classroom and school.
  We have recently seen students who are behind in their skills around following directions and classroom norms, mostly as a result of school closures during the pandemic. We have seen this more acutely in current 2nd graders, who were Kindergartners, starting school online.
  Lastly, our most significant challenge is funding. Our schools have typically paid a small portion of the costs for our programming, and this school year and the upcoming school year will have significant budget cuts. We are working on overcoming this with grants and individual funding.
  

  7. What do you envision as far as the future growth and impact of Space Between? Are there any upcoming initiatives or plans you can share?
  
  We will continue to evolve our thinking about internal capacity. We have a collaborative leadership model and a board and will continue to work on this model. We will continue to be intentional about equity, the partners and schools with whom we work, and the funders who we seek. We will continue to expand and deepen our reach in our programs. We also are fostering a network of organizations sharing mindfulness, and building momentum around mindfulness with partners (national and local).